Deadly Horizon

Riddle
Riddles are little poems or phrases that pose a question that needs answering. Riddles frequently rhyme, but this is not a requirement.

I hover out there in darkness unseen.
I will shred things to pieces 'till they're just smithereens.
I might serve as a gateway to places unspoken,
Yet I'm sealed off to man, forever unbroken.
I twist and distort, only darkness escapes,
I destroy all I find
Whatever I take.

Hint

I'm a wonderful thing, a mysterious lure.
But if you reach my horizon you're a goner for sure.

Answer

A black hole.
Scientists theorize that black holes and wormholes might lead to other dimensions or different parts of the universe and so on. Thus a "gateway to places unspoken."
Man cannot (as yet) enter a black hole. The end is self-explanatory.
As for the hint, black holes have an event horizon, and if something is to pass it, there is no way of escaping. (At least none that we know of.)

I got it right away, from "hover in darkness unseen", and then the crushing to smithereens. I thought that might have made it too easy, but then again, I think about black holes alllll the time (no sarcasm here, I really do!), so maybe it was only easy for black hole devotees. Good poem and good subject for a riddle, thanks!

I guessed a tornado but thought of a black hole briefly Does that count? There was a fun sci-fi book written decades ago called "Gateway" about space explorers who travel through black holes. It's a fun read

This was a really great teaser, bookworm!! Did you make that one up yourself, or did you find that somewhere else? It's very well written, poetically speaking, and it had me stumped for awhile. My first inclination was a black hole, but then I thought, nah... too obvious, so I looked up the answer and... voila!

I knew exactly what it was at a first glance. I guess you could say I'm a space fanatic, even though I don't know much about it. It is true that black holes destroy "All they find" (really, all that find them). However black holes are not a portal, and I'm pretty sure, although nobody really knows, that when you go through one, all your molecules are not only seperated, but also completely crushed, turning you into nothingness.

And did you know they now think the milky way has a ginormous black hole in the center of it? I wonder why we're still here... (at least that explains why the milky way is in a swirly shape... kind of like water going down a drain)

no but u could say black holes dont exist cuz we dont really KNOW, as we can see gravatational distortions but not the actuall black hole. so i guess i based this off of general theory. people say its possible to get shredded by a black hole, and there's tons of theories on black holes. lol too much to type rite now

I didn't solve your teaser, today! Mainly, because ALL information is still just conjecture. But, your teaser is fantastic. If only we knew for certain!??!# Careful with crossing the boundary of imagination and known truths, though

Excellent teaser! I think the line "I'm sealed off to man, forever unbroken" deals nicely with the idea that black holes are still conjecture (although strong evidence exists for their existence, unlike, say, a deity).
Based on the known evidence, things are certainly pulled to shreds given the extreme gravitational forces present.

i don't know too much about black holes...good t know more about that... it wasn't the type of "riddle" or answer I expected... seemed to be too theoretical and a bit beyond the common science we think & see all the time.. may be a good idea to move it from "riddle" to "science" category...

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions
I see that a few of you stated that this might fare better in the science category. I think the only problem with that is that my rhyme dances between theory and facts. In the science category, you pretty much have to have hard evidence for your answers, and since we still know so little about black holes, I'm not sure mine would stand up under scrutiny there. But, hey. If the editors choose to move it, I'm not going to argue.
Yes, my 'shred' line does kind of stretch it. (When I told this riddle to my mom, she said "Black holes don't shred things!" But that was the only synonym that would fit the rhyme and rhythm.)
Anway, thanks again for your comments! I'm always looking for ways to make my teasers better and more challenging.